As a professor and priest, I confess that I am extremely interested in what college students are grateful for at Thanksgiving time. My initial research of secular undergrads revealed the entire gamut of how typical 18-21 year olds would reply. Their gratitude ranged from Ramen Noodles to Happy Hours.
So I decided to take an informal survey on a Catholic campus to see if our students were significantly different from other institutes. I received some answers I expected, plus a few that really surprised me. For the serious analysts, there was no significant difference between those students who were going home for Thanksgiving and those who would be confined to the campus for this autumn holiday. But putting the null hypothesis aside, I discovered an overwhelming amount of consistency in their responses regardless of their religion, race, cultural background or gender.
The open-ended stem question which I asked freshmen and sophomores to complete was: “As a college student, I am most grateful for…” Of the 106 returns, here, in rank order, are the top 13 responses that had multiple repetitions, some as high as 24 percent.
These Catholic college students are most grateful for:
My family and their support-not just financially, although that is huge
My education
Friends
Health
Food
Having my own room
Being alive
My faith and blessings
Having an opportunity to grow as a person
Having a job
Meeting people from other cultures
Music
Getting a scholarship
There were, of course, unique responses as well. Some were more serious than others, but they certainly reflect the college mentality and maturity, so to speak. These included:
My iPad and having Internet access, especially to sites that sell textbooks cheap
Having clean clothes
Being able to take late classes so I can sleep in
My car
My siblings
My sweatpants
Freedom
Caffeine and sugar
My ability to switch majors
Being able to pursue my dreams
Sports
Being able to call myself a college student
My classic good looks
Finally, there were three particular responses that I believe deserve special attention. The first speaks to the matter of homesickness-a phenomenon that many of us forget still takes place when children, no matter what their age, move away from home for the first time. The second and third speak directly to the gift of life, albeit from very different perspectives:
Friends who make being away from my family so much easier to deal with
Waking up in the morning, knowing I have another day ahead of me…I know this sounds corny, but it's true
That my mom did not have an abortion or give me up for adoption when all odds were against her
For Holy Homework:
Before our turkey dinner this year, let's include all college students in our grace before meals, especially those who cannot go home for the holiday. And the next time we are pushing the shopping cart down the pasta aisle, let's pause for a moment by the Ramen Noodles and offer a prayer of thanks for the lives, health and faith of the future leaders of our country and our Church.
Comments can be sent to: FatherBobPagliari@Yahoo.com